


Misanthropy

by hanktalkin



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Agender Chara, Alternate Universe - Storyshift, Chara Has Issues, Cinnamon Roll Papyrus, Cold Weather, Gen, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 10:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13432995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanktalkin/pseuds/hanktalkin
Summary: “You just don’t get it,” Chara couldn’t help but snap. “Monsters may have the opportunity to find compassion in their SOULs, but humans do not. Each and every one of them is heartless, cruel, and single-minded.”Papyrus placed his hand up against the door. “…You’re not.”





	Misanthropy

There was a nice place, out near Snowdin. On the outside, it was cold, locked, sitting ominously amongst the rest of the woods like the places you tell your kids not to go in unless they want a human to eat them. But despite its reputation and the snow that always got into their shoes when they came, Chara found its interior one of the brightest points in their life.

“Human! I have something that will excite you!”

Chara smiled, the voice emanating from the giant stone door always able to make their lips quirk. “That you do. In fact, it is already working.”

“Really? Wowee! I haven’t even told you what it is yet!”

“Indeed. That is what has me so excited.”

Chara cleared off a square of snow in front of the door and sat down, their back pressed against rock so cold it might have been a sheet of ice. The door was too thick to pick up much sound beyond the skeleton’s booming voice, but Chara knew from experience Papyrus was leaning against his side as well. It’s how they spent every day outside the Ruins, enjoying a friend that was just close enough.

“So! What do you think I’vebrought today?”

“I do not know. What?”

“No human! You have to guess.”

“Very well. Is it ravioli?”

“No! A completely ridiculous guess!”

“Lasagna?”

“Come on human, it’s like you’re not even trying!”

Even though they were alone on their side of the door, Chara put a thoughtful finger to their chin. “Is it…spaghetti?”

“Coorrrrect, human! I knew you had it in you! Indeed, the Great Papyrus has made and excellent dish of absolutely amazing spaghetti!” There was a beat. “However, since I still am unable to open the door, I cannot give this one to you either. Instead, I will eat it myself, and think of you while doing so!”

Chara chuckled, and pictured the skeleton happily chowing down his plate, warmth radiating from the place where they imagined his back touched theirs. They pulled a chocolate bar from their pocket and nibbled.

That’s how their time away from the rest of the Dreemurrs was spent, though Chara never told anyone else where they’d run off to. They liked Papyrus, and there was something sacred about the (relative) peacefulness of hours spent against the wall. Papyrus would let them talk about all sorts of things, about Asriel, about Snowdin, school, Asriel, their parents, chocolate milk, Asriel, and most importantly, Asriel. In return, Chara listened about whatever Papyrus had been getting up to inside the Ruins, humoring his boasts.

They got the feeling he was a very lonely skeleton.

They never pried though, though sometimes Papyrus would let slip enough that Chara could put the clues together. He’d never told them he was a skeleton, for instance, but his name had come up often enough. That, and the fact he hadn’t lived here when Chara fell down, meant the timeframe lined up almost too well with a certain missing prince…

But Chara didn’t care about any of that. To them, he was just a friendly voice on the other side of a wall.

The first time Chara got a real taste of why all this was happening, it was because of the flowers. “I went into the flower garden today,” Papyrus was saying, the sound of his voice reverberating pleasantly through the wall and into Chara’s skull. “At first I thought a human had fallen down! But then the loud noise turned out to be a dog, a dog who then tried to steal one of my bones. It was disheartening.”

“It sounds like you were better off,” Chara pointed out. “Better a dog than a human any day.”

“A good point human! If it really was a- well… _another_ human, they’d be in a lot of danger!”

The terrible cheerfulness in Papyrus’s voice set Chara’s teeth on edge. “Who cares?” they couldn’t help but mutter. “It is what they get for coming down here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, human! No one deserves to be set upon by the whole Undergound! Not that they would come to any real harm, what with the Great Papyrus defending them. Nyeh he heh he he.”

Chara shook their. “Other humans will not want to be your friend, Papyrus. They are a rotten species, through and through. If one truly were to fall down, it would be a miracle they did not wipe the entire Undergound clean.”

“…You sound very convinced that all humans are bad people.”

Chara pulled their knees up to their chest, and wrapped their arms around them. “I am speaking from experience.”

Papyrus was silent for a moment, his rare instances of quiet contemplation. Then he said, in a voice that was somewhat softer than his usual one, “it has been a long time since you met a human. They can always change. Every person has a chance to be better.”

“You just do not get it,” Chara couldn’t help but snap. “Monsters may have the opportunity to find compassion in their SOUls, but humans do not. Each and every one of them is heartless, cruel, and single-minded.”

Despite the several feet of solid stone between them, Chara could swear they heard Papyrus turn to face the door. They imagined him putting a skeletal hand against the rock.

“…You’re not.”

Chara buried their face against their knees. “Yes. I am.” They didn’t want to think about why. They didn’t want those old wounds. “But thank you. For thinking that.”

* * *

The last time Chara heard from Papyrus, the skeleton sounded both more nervous and (somehow) more chipper than usual. Chara tried not to pay it much mind, instead opting filling him in on a movie they’d seen yesterday, (Undyne’s best yet in their opinion). It seemed like Papyrus was trying to pay attention, but his heart just wasn’t in it.

It was only when it was Chara’s time to go that Papyrus stopped them.

“I-…human. I must speak with you about something.” Chara was about to make a joke that they’d been speaking for the past few hours, when Papyrus rushed on. “I know that wh- _if_ , a human were ever to fall down again, I would have no trouble taking care of them! After all, I have been training for long and hard to be the best and most cool human caretaker to ever grace the underground!”

Chara faced the door, breath freezing in air. They could practically see him, the tall stature of a skeleton trying not to wring his hands.

“But…even if I were not able to…on the chance that a human would make it past this door…would you look out for them?”

Sucking cold air into their lungs, Chara hissed, averting their eyes from the door. “Why in star’s name would I ever do that?”

“Chara. Please.” Chara froze. Papyrus never called them by name, and they almost thought he must have forgotten it since the time they’d told him. “I…I know you hate humanity. But people can surprise you when you give them a second chance. So, please, if ever meet another human, would you remember that for me?”

Chara fiddled with the strings on their hoodie. It was a small thing. Such a small thing to ask and yet…

They walked forward, and pressed their forehead against the door. Even for the briefest moment of contact, the cold seemed to suck the life from their skin. “…Alright Papyrus. I promise.”

The relief in his voice was audible. “Good! Excellent to hear. Not that it would ever happen of course!” Papyrus thought for a moment. “But if it did, I’d have to find something else to call them besides ‘human’.”

“Have you thought about using their name?”

“Wait! I’ve got it! ‘new human’. I’m a genius.”

Chara cracked a small smile. They hoped Papyrus was right about humans. They hoped he was right about them, too.


End file.
